Generational Blame About Property Is Easy, But It Gets Us Nowhere

You’ve probably seen it more times than you can count - Boomers hoarding houses, Millennials crying about avocado toast, Gen Z accused of being job-shy.

This narrative circulates because it’s simple and emotionally satisfying.

But if you peel back the layers, blaming “generations” tells us almost nothing useful about housing affordability or wealth inequality in Australia.

If we get stuck yelling at each other about age cohorts, we will lose the chance to tackle the real drivers of the challenges we face.

The facts aren’t about age. They’re about policy and demographics

Let’s get real about what’s been happening in Australia.

There's nothing new about policies such as negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts.

Contrary to popular belief, negative gearing has been part of the tax system since 1936.

Then in 1985 the ALP stopped Negative Gearing in 1985, but the resultant shortage of housing and surge in rentals was so bad that they reinstated it two years later.

These aren’t “Boomer tax lurks”, they’re long-standing tax settings that successive governments have baked into the system.

And demographic change isn’t something any generation “caused”.

Australia’s population is ageing, migration has always been with us and housing approvals haven’t kept pace with demand.

This has pushed prices up, not because Boomers conspired to lock out younger buyers, but because supply hasn’t kept pace with demand.

As I see it, by focusing on generational identity, we miss looking at structural forces such as monetary policy, planning delays, immigration trends and supply shortfalls.

Wealth isn’t just about age.  It’s about time in the market

It’s true that older Australians hold the lion’s share of housing wealth and a disproportionately large slice of the housing stock in Australia, but much of that wealth accumulation happened because of time in the market, not generational scheming.

A property bought decades ago in what were then outer suburbs is now middle-ring real estate simply because of long-term urban growth.

If we want to critique something, it’s not age groups, it’s the mix of policy settings and market dynamics that allowed asset prices to outpace wage growth dramatically.

That’s an economic and planning story, not a generational morality tale.

The real issue is affordability and access

Studies show that younger Australians are taking longer to become homeowners than previous generations.

Homeownership rates for Millennials aged 25-39 sit lower than Gen X or Boomers at the same age.

That’s not because Millennials are lazy, it’s because deposit requirements, wage growth, and property prices have diverged dramatically.

And this isn’t unique to Australia. Generational frustration over housing access is cropping up around the world, often linked to structural shifts in labour markets, credit conditions and urbanisation patterns.

What gets lost in generational blame is that almost everyone suffers when housing affordability breaks down.

Renters struggle, first-home buyers are pushed to the fringes, upgraders have challenges, and downsizers can't find suitable properties at the right price.

Blame doesn’t build houses. Solutions do

So let’s move past the satisfaction of finger-pointing at older generations and think about what could move the dial on our housing problems.

• Fix supply pipelines so approvals and infrastructure work in parallel, not in decades-long disconnects.
• Reform tax settings thoughtfully, focusing on incentives that increase supply rather than simply redistribute existing stock.
• Support diverse housing options, including build-to-rent, co-housing and more affordable housing beyond the standard detached home model.
• Encourage wealth education and capability for younger Australians so they’re better equipped to navigate complex markets.

Generational labels are a conversation stopper, not a starter

At the end of the day, talking about Millennials versus Boomers makes it look like a culture war, but the deeper problem is economic, demographic and policy driven.

Progress will come when we look beyond the blame game and ask tougher questions about why housing markets behave as they do.

Let’s make conversations about housing policy and market design, not generational scoring.

About Adam Hubbard Adam Hubbard is a senior Wealth Strategist at Metropole and his many years of real estate and wealth creation experience gives him a holistic perspective with which he helps his clients safely grow their wealth through property.